Business Archives - Page 374 of 389

26 Jul

Parliament Passes Tax Exemptions Bill 2022

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Parliament has passed the Tax Exemptions Bill 2022 to streamline the tax exemption regime in the country. The Bill, among other things, comprises tax waivers given to local and foreign companies to encourage increased investment and more foreign direct investment in the economy. When assented to by the President, the Tax Exemptions Bill will strengthen the monitoring role of the Ministry of Finance and Parliament on the management of exemptions. Also, it will seek to provide a regulatory regime for monitoring tax exemptions to ensure that exemptions granted are used for the intended purposes, as well curtail the abuse of…

26 Jul

Accra-Tema Motorway Users To Pay Tolls After Completion Of Expansion Works

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Users of the Accra-Tema motorway can expect to start paying tolls again after the completion of expansion works on the road. During the Mid-year budget review, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the completed road will be tolled to recover the whole cost. The toll will also be to “pay lenders and provide a return for equity investors.” The collection of road tolls nationwide was stopped as part of a policy announcement in the 2022 budget. Under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programme for road infrastructure, the Accra-Tema Motorway and Extension PPP Project to 10 lanes is currently at its procurement…

26 Jul

Gov’t Revises Macroeconomic Targets; GDP Growth Rate Target Reduced To 3.7%

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The government has revised this year’s projected economic growth rate target of 5.8% to 3.7%. According to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the reason behind the revision includes the heightened global pressures such as the Russia-Ukraine war which has caused the revenue measures to underperform. He disclosed this during the presentation of the mid-year budget to Parliament for approval on Monday. “The macroeconomic environment has significantly changed, prompting the revision of the macroeconomic framework. Furthermore, based on the developments for the first six months of 2022 and the outlook for the rest of the year, we have accordingly revised the…

21 Jul

Countries Outside Africa Cutting Forests To Embark On Large Scale Cocoa Farming Unfair As Ghana Is Restricted – COCOBOD CEO

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Stakeholders in the cocoa value chain production say even though Ghana is obeying a European Union (EU) condition placed on the country not to expand cocoa farms to forest regions, the practice is fast gaining grounds in other parts of the world such as China. According to them, the development makes traditional cocoa growing areas such as Ghana and Ivory Coast face unfair competition. Speaking to a delegation from the European Union on the issue, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo appealed to the EU to immediately check the practice to protect Ghana and Ivory Coast from unfair…

21 Jul

About ¢5bn In Bribes Paid In Both Private And Public Sectors In 2021 – GSS

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About ¢5 billion in bribes were paid in both the private and the public sectors, a survey by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed. The report dubbed ‘2021 Ghana Integrity of Public Services Survey’ indicates that 26.7% public sector officials were engaged in bribery acts, whilst 9.1% were officials from the private sector. According to Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, corruption was prevalent within the Ghana Police Service. The service recorded 53.2% corrupt cases, followed by the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Revenue Authority with 37.4% and 33.6% respectively. Prevalence of bribery in Ghana The report also…

19 Jul

Why Are Foreign Banks Dominating In Ghana But Ghanaian Banks Aren’t In Other Lands? – TUC Boss

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The Ghanaian economy must be structured in a way that will enable locals produce what they eat and also eat what they produce, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Dr Anthony Yaw Baah has said. In his view, the Ghanaian economy needs serious restructuring to favour local entrepreneurs. Dr Yaw Baah said these at a press conference while speaking on the conditions of the Ghanaian worker vis-à-vis the decision by the government to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support, on Monday July 18. He rejected the decision to go to the Fund because in his view, the Bretton…

18 Jul

Railway Company To Begin Tema-Accra Shuttle Train Services Today

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Management of Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) will resume the Tema-Accra passenger train service from today, Monday, July 18, 2022, which was suspended temporarily for rehabilitation works. “After successfully addressing some technical challenges, GRCL conducted a series of test runs and a final joint inspection was also carried out on July 7, 2022, by GRCL and Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) to ascertain the suitability of the line for passenger service,” a statement from GRCL noted. In the statement, the Ghana Railway Company Limited said GRDA, the industry regulator, has granted it the approval to commence the shuttle service. “The…

18 Jul

Oil Futures Have Slid Below $100 As Investors Brace For Recession

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Underneath a chaotic global energy market is a dislocation between oil prices on the futures and physical market that appears to have emerged. Oil futures have undergone immense battering recently as fears of a recession come into full force. The global benchmark Brent crude fell below $100 earlier this week, heading for its 5th straight weekly loss and longest streak of losses this year. The last time Brent crude fell for that many weeks in a row was last November. Hot inflation and interest rate hikes around the world have darkened the outlook for the global economy and increased the prospect of a recession. Fresh data…

14 Jul

IEA Suggests Hybrid Approach In Tackling Rising Inflation Rate

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The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is asking the government to take overall responsibility in checking the rise in the country’s inflation rate, as it suggests the use of a hybrid approach to deal with the situation over the long term. This approach, according to the Institute, is a combination of the inflation targeting approach, which targets headline inflation, and an approach that directly targets key components that drive up the cost of items that determines the consumer price inflation in the country. Proposing the new approach to address the rising inflation which currently stands at 29.8 percent, the Institute…

13 Jul

Stakeholders Call For Increased Transparency In How E-Levy Funds Are Used

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has backed calls for transparency in the manner in which funds accrued from the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) are used. One of the sources the government was hoping would help it raise much-needed revenue is the E-Levy, but information from government’s quarters indicates that it is underperforming woefully. A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko recently noted that the tax measure since its implementation has generated only 10% of estimated revenue, causing some to call for it to be scrapped. Others…